Jiyune

I have the feeling that it's been a WHILE since the last time I draw

I almost never draw realistic... Realist ? Idk realist person. And I don't have the feeling that Han is recognizable ...

Anyway !! My friend told me to draw Lee Know so uh ... Voilà?

── .✦ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁✦ .──

After this meeting, you decide to confront Senku. You were very good friends before the petrification, you were in the same class, but that's not really what triggered your encounter.

You met thanks to Yuzuriha, who was your best friend in primary school and still is today. You were a little surprised when one day a giant marshmallow named Taiju showed up at lunchtime to ask Yuzuriha to make mini dolls for a science experiment his best friend was doing. Yuzuriha agreed to make the dolls. And you? You were curious. Let's be realistic, what you learn in secondary school isn't enough to do big experiments that require little cloth dolls. So it was worth taking a look.

You know the rest, the quartet was formed, you and Senku were two conspirators trying to get their two best childhood friends together. Well, you two, it was more you than Senku, but he encouraged it in his own way, you could say.

Then, as we know, the petrification happened. You were depetrified by Senku, and when you woke up, you learned that he had become the leader of Ishigami Village and that he was married—well, divorced, actually—that Taiju and Yuzuriha were spies in an infiltrated camp, and that they needed manpower in the kingdom of science to create a telephone. Senku's marriage announcement came as a big shock to you at first, but you laughed it off afterwards, and you even tease him about it sometimes.

Despite the misadventures that happened, you felt a great admiration for him. A simple high school student who woke up in a world of stone and is now preparing to go to the moon. That's something to admire, frankly!

You felt more than admiration and friendship for Senku, that's for sure. But what about him? You had no idea. Much to your heart's regret.

- "So you're telling me that the scientist will inevitably be you, because Xeno will have to stay on Earth to supervise, being a NASA scientist. That the warrior will inevitably be Tsukasa, with his brute strength, and that the pilot will be none other than Ryusui, being the best we know. Don't you see something wrong with that? You are all important people in our lives! Isn't there a possibility of creating a rocket for a return trip? Humanity was able to get so far in technology at the time, we managed to catch up with them on many inventions in a decade, if we forget the moments when we were all petrified for a long period of time! A return rocket would be possible!" You were out of breath after showing your disagreement with Senku.

He sighed before tapping your forehead with his index and middle fingers.

- "Little idiot, to build this kind of rocket means using twice the number of components if you count the take-off tests. That means we'll be using twice as much fuel. Do you really think the whole of humanity will agree to be exploited like that?"

- "Do you think Byakuya would agree to his son sacrifying his life because he is too stubborn to look for another solution that might work?"

Your voice was getting louder. Seeing the man you love, with whom you have been through thick and thin, decide to die prematurely because he prefers efficiency to any other solution was inevitably going to make you angry and, above all, plunge you into a state of despair.

- "The old man has nothing to do with this! You know that as well as I do."

- "All I know is that this goddamn discussion is over and I don’t want to argue with you anymore... See you later, Senku, and good night."

With a slam of the door, you announced your exit, leaving Senku alone in the Perseus room where you had locked yourselves in to talk without idiots like Yo coming in to disturb you.

- "You really are an idiot when you get like this... Do you really want us to argue before I leave?"

── .✦ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁✦ .── 

A quick jump in time is necessary, with explanations about the situation, of course.

After Senku's announcement, Chrome and Suika embark on a race against time and the scientists. Their goal? To build a rocket that will make the round trip. Except that all this is not done by chance but with calculations, so the best choice for learning mathematics as quickly as possible is obviously the human calculator of the kingdom of science, Sai Nanami.

After de-petrifying and exploiting the various countries for the resources needed for the rocket, it was time to return to where it all began, Japan.

After de-petrifying the inhabitants of Treasure Island, it was agreed that the island would serve as the launch site for the rocket. Then it was the turn of the people in Ishigami village to be de-petrified, who, during the absence of a large part of the village, did not rest and built a barrage that will also serve as a hydroelectric power station.

With that, a television was created, unfortunately... As expected, there were no channels in this new world. But that didn't stop our dear journalist Minami from launching the first television news programme in this stone world.

At the same time, in another part of the globe, Yuzuriha's manual team brought what they had built, a computer, into Japan. Finally, the process as powerful as a NES to make a computer. At the same time, Ryusui, with his desire to possess everything, decided to control the media that had been created in this stone world. Then, unlike his brother, Sai decided to recreate the revolutionary games of the old world. Like Tetris, Pacman and other retro games.

Meanwhile, a problem with Medusa arose. Yo and Gen were petrified as they left the place where they had locked Medusa. But this gave the team of scientists a reason to create surveillance cameras.

With the addition of surveillance cameras, it was time to use them to advance the lunar mission. It was important to locate Why-man on the moon. And in modern times, what was the best way to observe every corner of the moon? Satellites! This led to the creation of solar panels to provide enough electricity to the satellite.

Finally, we arrive at the construction of the central point of this mission: the launch site and the unmanned rocket.

As for Xeno, whom we haven't heard from in three years, he returns from America with a state-of-the-art rocket engine powerful enough to propel the satellite and rocket into space!

It's time for the rocket launch, and everyone is ready for the first launch into this new world! As a certain leek would say, it's all wildly exciting.

Speaking of him, since that discussion, you've never really spoken to each other again, just a few hellos, and even then, you tried to stay away from him as much as possible because you knew that if you stayed too close to him, you would just explode and cry your eyes out.

Preparing for the launch, you were standing next to Minami and Gen. The young journalist announced the start of the launch, while the mentalist dampened the mood by reminding her that her announcement would not go beyond Japan. As for Senku, he was next to his mentor, Xeno. Of course, there was Ryusui, shouting with joy at the invention of the master and the student, who was confident that launching the rocket into space would now be child's play.

It's the moment of truth and...

The rocket did a loop before crashing into the water?!

- "Hey, at least it didn't kaboom, that's better than nothing" you said as you watched a team of marines prepare to retrieve the rocket and its components scattered in the water.

- "Don't jinx us! I swear, if it explodes on the second try, I'll blow you up with it!" Gen shouted next to you, looking panicked about what might happen next.

- "Stop shouting, you're going to make me deaf!" you shouted back at Gen.

- "You're the one shouting the most, loudmouth!"

- "What did you call me?! With that haircut, you must be every hairdresser's nightmare!"

- "YOU TWO CALM DOWN BEFORE I THROW YOU OVERBOARD AND YOU END UP AS TSUKASA'S MEAL!" Minami shouted louder than the two idiots she was travelling with.

Gen and you looked at each other before announcing in unison ,

- "We're not pudgy enough for Tsukasa to gain even a little strength by eating us."

── .✦ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁✦ .── 

A month later, after Xeno and Senku had checked the error behind the problem, Kaseki had improved the resistance of the nozzle so that the rocket would no longer loop. The kingdom of science prepared for the second rocket test. All these preparations

The launch began and then...

BOOM!!

- "You really brought us bad luck, loudmouth..." Gen looked at you, disappointed by the misfortune you had predicted a month earlier.

- "It all started with some faulty wiring..." Senku explained, his eyes filled with a defiant look, ready to take on the challenge.

- "Huh? Such a big boom for such a small detail? Geez..."

As for Gen, he looked rather surprised and realised that every detail counts, and if just one detail was even a millimetre different from what was planned, it would be game over for the lunar mission and spell the death of the astronaut team.

- "It's more than complex. Even in the 21st century, R&D teams faced this type of accident," said Dr Xeno. This prompted Sai to continue the discussion using language he knew perfectly well: coding.

- "It's like coding... Forgetting a simple hyphen in a line can crash the entire programme."

Not far from the discussion, you watched what was happening. Your gaze turned to Senku, who was looking back at you with a slight smile. You ignored him and moved away from the group.

- "My dear Senku, what have you done to put our beloved companion in such a bad mood?" Gen appeared behind Senku with his big, sly smile, hiding the lower half of his face with his sleeves.

"Like many people, they refuse to take part in this one-way mission to the moon. We should have expected this reaction from them."

"Hmm... you know that if you don't do something before you leave, the farewell will be just as painful for both of you, and your feelings for him will unfortunately remain a big secret."

- "Since when have you been playing the Cupid?" Senku looked at his best friend, if he could call him that, while cleaning his ear.

- "Since the great scientist lost all courage to announce the simple reality of his feelings." the mentalist laughed in Senku's face.

- "I... You're really pissing me off."

- "Come on, without me you wouldn't even have realised that you were spending more than ten seconds looking at your “friend” with eyes full of love, which, to be honest, I wouldn't have thought you were capable of feeling. To think that was several years ago, olalala."

Even though Gen was teasing Senku, his tone was filled with nostalgia. After so many adventures, Gen has learned a lot from Senku and truly sees him as a battle brother, a best friend, a confidant. He has never been afraid to put his life in the hands of this mad scientist.

- "Yeah, yeah, if you want, mentalist... Well, I have to leave you now, I have a rocket to rebuild." ── .✦ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁✦ .── 

How much time has passed? One year? Two years? No, much more than that.

The trials multiply, as do the failures. But each new attempt brings improvement. However, anxiety begins to mount, with the accumulation of failures and stress, and the possibility of another attack from Why-Man.

But no one gives up, because science will always reward hard work!

Finally, after several tests, they succeed. After so much hard work, the accumulated anxiety subsides as the rocket rises into the sky above this world of stone. It carries with it the satellite that will reveal Why-Man's location.

"Ah! We'll be able to see the surface of the moon! I can use my acute vision to locate Why-Man," exclaimed Kohaku, grabbing the television and turning on the screen showing the surface of the moon.

While Xeno marvelled at Kohaku's visual acuity, he turned his head to observe Suika and Chrome deep in thought. Their faces did not really express the happiness and curiosity of this advance compared to usual, but they seemed to be more tense.

As they began to leave for the wooden cabin where they spent most of their time, with Sai joining them from time to time, you followed them, listening to their conversations.

- "But the moment Kohaku finds it... They'll want to hop straight onto the rocket for a one-way trip to the moon, right?" Suika asked Chrome as he stared at the ground, then suddenly looked up.

- "Yeah! Which means we don't have much time left! We have to finish our own mission before that... And build our return rocket!" Chrome exclaimed as he walked determinedly towards his “lab”, if you could call it that.

As they entered the cabin, you stood in the doorway.

- "So this is what you've been planning with Sai all along? I love your determination, and I'd love to help because I don't want to lose my long-time friends, but... We're talking about Kohaku and his keen eyesight. How long will it take? I'll give him a maximum of five days to find it."

- "Oh, shit! You scared me!" Chrome shouted, then looked at them with eyes filled with a flame ready to set the universe ablaze if necessary. "We know it’s complicated, believe me, Suika and I wanted to give up several times because of how complex it is! But I’d rather ruin my nights and my health than lose a family!"

You looked at him for a moment, then looked at Suika. The same fire burned in her eyes. Finally, you burst out laughing before speaking.

- "I'm with you 10 billion per cent, my friends. I'm not very good at maths, but I can offer some hypotheses." You gave them a thumbs up.

And my God... That starry-eyed look on Suika and Chrome's faces when they heard your announcement, you saw a glimmer of hope, such a small star of hope that could nevertheless explode and be as devastating as a black hole. You were ready to give it your all. If it could prevent Senku from drifting away forever and finally bring him back... Would it be wise to confess your feelings if he came back? What if you don't succeed? Should you still confess your feelings before he leaves?

- "An extra pair of hands is better than nothing! Thank you so much for joining us!" Chrome grabbed your hands, wanting to show his gratitude in some way. "By the way, I was wondering, did you have a disagreement with Senku? You seem much more distant."

- "That's true! Suika has also noticed that you've been seeing him less, and Senku keeps looking at you when your back is turned. He seems desperate to patch things up with you!"

You looked at Suika before speaking.

- "My little Suika, well, not so little anymore." You laughed softly. Suika has grown so much since you met her. What a brave girl, you think. "This argument started because of that bloody mission. OK, the argument has been going on for far too long now. We're both stubborn, I'm sorry about that. But knowing him, we're nearing the peak of this lunar mission. If I went to talk to him now, I'm afraid of what might happen if I disturbed him."

Suika lowered her head and looked at the floor.

- "That's right... Suika hadn't thought of that!"

Then finally Chrome clapped her hands.

- "It's time to stop chattering! We have a return rocket to build, don't we? Let's get motivated!"

Chrome, who had managed to motivate her little group, was the first to complain about the complicated calculations. Suika, meanwhile, drew up plans with all the information she could find on each theory, writing everything down and reusing bits and pieces of ideas for new theories. For your part, you tried as hard as you could to come up with theories, but also to remember articles from the world before petrification that talked about rocket launches. You were interested in these articles because Senku kept talking about them and you liked listening to him, his eyes filled with stars, as he corrected some of the information you had found in the articles.

── .✦ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁✦ .──

Life was playing with everyone's despair, and this time it was Chrome's, Suika's, and yours that were being toyed with. You spent two days and two nights trying to find even the slightest possibility of saving everyone. But all you got from your migraines were not only sleepless nights but also failures. In the end, not a single spark of inspiration came to save them. Oh, how you cursed Kohaku's good eyesight when, on the third night you were about to spend awake, she exclaimed and noticed a strange black formation on the screen that was moving regularly. Why-Man has been located, and the rocket launch will take place in two months, giving the astronauts who have already been chosen time to train physically. The chosen team consists of Senku as scientists, after much thought, Kohaku instead of Tsukasa, who even recommended him. Finally, the pilot will be Stanley, who is a much better shot than Ryusui, or at least that is what Ryusui said. Ryusui, the most greedy man in the world, agreed to give up his place to save humanity instead of letting his desires control him. For a greedy man, Ryusui was actually a man with a heart of gold, always there for others in the end.

In short, Stanley was de-petrified after being found in a cave in America. It was after his de-petrification that a certain rumour began to spread between Xeno and him.

Let's be honest, Chelsea wasn't exactly known for keeping her lips sealed in public, so when she started talking about Xeno and Stanley's reunion, saying that they were so close for childhood friends that she suspected there was more than friendship between the two men, many people tried to find out more by asking those involved. However, the only answers they got were insinuations. None of them really admitted anything. But one thing is certain: it was one of the juiciest pieces of gossip in the science world in quite some time.

It's now been a month since Why-Man was located.

While everyone else was busy preparing for the rocket launch, making space suits and everything else related to the mission, you locked yourself in your wooden cabin to finally rest and recover from the sleepless nights. At least, you tried to. Emotionally, you weren't ready to say goodbye to them.

That's when you heard a knock at your door.

- "I'm exhausted, leave me alone... if you need anything, ask Gen, he should get off his arse a bit more instead of pissing me off." You repeated, hiding a little more under your blanket.

- "It's not very nice to talk like that to one of your best friends, whom you've been sulking at for over a year because of that argument. I have to say, your stubbornness is at its peak, at 10 billion per cent."

Of course, the person who came to annoy you was none other than Senku... OBVIOUSLY. The last person you wanted to talk to.

- "I'd like to talk, please." You're not going to lie, but hearing Senku's voice so peaceful was certainly not uncommon, but considering how you parted ways last time...

So you opened the door for him.

- "Well, you look like shit! What the hell have you been doing to get dark bags under your eyes like that?" He was mocking you, as usual.

- "If you want to know, great scientist, Chrome, Suika and I have been working day and night to find a solution for you and the whole astronaut team! And for what? To find nothing and lose you!" It was too much, and tears began to roll down your face. Oh, how you hated showing yourself like this in front of him...

"I... I appreciate the effort you're making and... Why the hell is it so hard to express my emotions?!"

You wiped away the few tears that had fallen

- "because emotionally you're really useless at expressing your feelings, you idiot." Then you laughed 'anyway, Senku, I want to apologise, it's true I shouldn't have mentioned Byakuya in something that didn't..."

Senku cut you off, raising his hand in front of your face and picking his ear as usual.

- "You're not the only one who needs to apologise. I'm also partly to blame for this completely stupid mess. But you know very well that I can't change the final outcome of this mission, even if we were to argue 10 billion times."

- "Yeah, I know. I'm glad we were able to talk things through before you ended up where you always dreamed of going."

- "That's true, eheh."

Well, let's be honest, the atmosphere of the discussion shows a certain awkwardness between the two. Then Senku continued.

- "By the way, I wanted to ask you something. Before I left, I offered to make everyone's wishes come true. For example, I made Yuzuriha a washing machine, Minami got a camera, and Taiju finally got the phone he'd wanted for so long. For the most part, I fulfilled their wishes, but since I hadn't really seen you, I had to confront you to find out your last wish before I left for ten years, maybe even hundreds!"

You took a moment to think.

- "I don't really have any ideas, sorry Senku," you yawned. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I'd really like to catch up on those two damn nights. See you soon."

- "See you soon, you little idiot," then closed the door on him. You heard him walk away, returning to his business.

As for you, you sat on the floor with your back against the door, muttering to yourself about how you could have used that moment to confess your feelings before he left... And by a “happy coincidence”, Senku had the same thoughts. He would have liked to finally put an end to all the feelings he had developed for you. Unfortunately, for the rest of the month, he would be far too busy fulfilling people's wishes and finalising his mission 10 billion per cent. Life can be cruel when it wants to be, can't it?

── .✦ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁✦ .── 

The big day had finally arrived... The astronaut team was passing through a kind of transparent tube, a bit like a tarpaulin, which prevented any external components from interfering with the interior of the rocket. You were outside this transparent tarpaulin, next to Gen. You watched the farewells taking place around you.

Kohaku and Ruri were talking through the tarpaulin, the older sister was crying, refusing to see her little sister leave and perhaps never see her again. Inside the same tarpaulin, an interaction between Xeno and Stanley took place. It was simple and direct, with Xeno giving Stanley some chewing tobacco as he was not allowed to smoke in the rocket. It was a brief exchange, yet it expressed so many feelings.

Then, on your side... you faced Senku, his proud smile that he always wore from beginning to end.

- "Even in this situation, you're not going to shed a single tear, Senku?" Compared to you, Senku looked like a parched desert. While you were crying hot tears.

- "Come on, silly, heartbreaking goodbyes aren't my strongpoint, so let's get this over with quickly." It seemed as if he was unperturbed, but he was just very good at holding back his feelings.

- "Yes, yes! I don't even have the right to cry because I might not see you again!" You wiped your tears before looking him in the eyes. "See you soon, Senku, I'm sure you'll succeed in this mission!"

"Yeah, yeah, I don't really believe in life after death, but if you believe in it, I'll say it to make you happy. See you in another life, silly."

You didn't really expect Senku, the scientist who bases everything on facts, to say ‘see you in another life’. That was the final trigger, and another flood of tears poured down your face as Senku walked away with Stanley and Kohaku...

- "You're the worst, Senku... It's hard to let you go and you know it..."

At your side, Gen rubbed your back, trying his best to be a source of moral support.

── .✦ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁✦ .── 

The mission went smoothly, and the rocket reached orbit. The astronauts, who had been sent into space in a state of petrification, were de-petrified thanks to an invention by America's best clockmaker, Joel, who had created a kind of timer that, after a certain amount of time, released a de-petrifying liquid onto the wearer. After three days, they reached the moon, and Why-Man's identity was finally revealed: the petrifying object was simply one of Why-Man's many parts. An alien species hoped to receive thanks worthy of a deity for giving eternal life to humanity. They were completely mistaken. They had just caused humanity to lose thousands of years of knowledge... After Senku had to explain the error of this species' choice for humanity, the aliens decided to leave Earth, seeing no further interest in the human species.

But before leaving, Senku asked them to petrify them, as they had no return ticket, which was the best thing to do for them, according to the plan. Now they just had to wait for humanity on Earth to evolve enough to be able to travel to the moon and back...

- "So this is the end of our long journey... I should have taken advantage of our last goodbyes to tell you what I was thinking... I'm sorry."

These were Senku's last words. They were meant for you, even though he knew you would never hear them... How he regrets not telling you everything at the time...

And he began to count, just as he had done at the beginning of the petrification. 3,700 years ago.

1. 2. 3. 4....

𐔌 ﹒ ⋆ ꩜ ⋆ 𓂃 ₊ ⊹﹒ ◠ ✩ ⊹ ﹒

I could have ended the story there, but I wrote a little bonus. :D

𐔌 ﹒ ⋆ ꩜ ⋆ 𓂃 ₊ ⊹﹒ ◠ ✩ ⊹ ﹒

How old were you today? Almost 87? Your bones ached, you couldn't deny it. You couldn't take life anymore, yet here you are, in a hospital bed, waiting for death to take you away. Every day you remember the adventure you had with Senku, the exploits, the failures, the tears of sadness, the cries of joy. So many things, in the end. And every time, those memories make you smile.

How you miss him. It's been over 60 years now since he, Stanley and Kohaku were petrified. So long when you think about it, my God... For a very long time, you dreamed of what life would have been like if Suika Chrome and you had managed to build that rocket for a return trip. Would you have been able to confess your feelings to Senku?

In the end, all these suppositions make you regret more and more not having done as Senku did, studying subjects in the hope that they would be useful later. After all, no one could have known that a petrifying ray created by aliens would strike the Earth.

It was in the middle of your train of thought that you heard a knock on your hospital room door. At first, you thought it was the nurse again, asking if you needed anything.

- "No, Sandrine, for the tenth time, I don't need anything. I just want to rest and wait for death to come knocking on the door, not you!"

Then, after this declaration, the door opened without your permission, because I don't think anyone cares anymore.

- "Sandrine, Senku, apart from the S, I don't see any resemblance between the two names, you little idiot. I thought you would have matured with age, but apparently I was wrong."

A male voice you knew all too well burst into your hospital room. You had lost hope of his return before you left the world of the living, but it seems that life can be a real pain in the ass when it puts its mind to it. Strokes of luck can happen.

You couldn't believe your eyes. Senku was alive, no longer petrified, with a bouquet of flowers in his right hand. They were surely meant for you, because when he noticed the empty vase near your bed, he placed them inside it.

- "I... Wow"

was all you could say. OK, you'd heard on the telly that they were planning to go and fetch the astronauts who had been petrified on the moon over 60 years ago. But you'd never seen whether it had worked or not. Well, yes, now you see the only man who stole your heart, still as young as ever.

- "If someone had told me I'd see you before I turned to ashes, I would never have believed them."

- "Dark humour, it's been a long time since I've heard that from you." He picked his ear while laughing.

- "Admit it, you missed the leek," you laugh in turn.

- "I... I missed you too, you know. Damn, that sounds so corny when it comes out of my mouth."

- "Awww, young Senku thought of his old friend, how sweet!" Old habits die hard; it's been so long since you last teased him. "I hope you went to say hello to everyone. Taiju and Yuzuriha's grandchildren are so cute, and to think they thought they would never see you again, to the point where their first child is named after you. They're such a lovely old couple."

The afternoon continued like this, with you informing Senku of the latest news he had missed during his petrification.

It was late at night, even though hospital visiting hours were technically over. The staff had never seen you smile so much during a visit and couldn't bring themselves to spoil your happiness. Around 2 a.m., you started yawning.

- "It's so boring not being young anymore, seriously! I always want to sleep. I'm sure I've reached the sleep hours of a cat at this rate!"

- "Get some rest, silly. You deserve it. I'll come back tomorrow to hear more of your stories."

"See you tomorrow, my friend!"

Then Senku left. He returned the following afternoon for more chit-chat between two old friends. This routine lasted a week, and it was only on Sunday afternoon, after you told Senku how you had managed to make Ruri and Chrome's child's first words “madly exciting”, that Chrome was crying with joy and Ruri had to console her husband because of you.

- "It took a long time for those two to finally say “I love you”,"

Senku said as he sat on a chair next to your bed, eating instant ramen because, according to him, the hospital food was disgusting and inedible, like the first ramen he had created.

- "That's so true! I swear, I thought I was going to go mad with Chrome's stupidity! I really like him as a person, but my God, he never paid attention to the signs..."

A coughing fit took you by surprise, but not only you, Senku too. He helped you sit up and rubbed your back.

- "I'm only 87 years old and my body is already giving up on the journey?!" Then the coughing started again.

Senku looked for the famous red button to alert the nurses that you needed help. He found it easily and pressed it.

── .✦ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁✦ .── 

- "According to the nurses, I only have a few hours left. How wonderful to die in front of my best friend..."

While you were complaining as you lay on your deathbed, Senku was beside you, and to your surprise, he held your hand, their fingers intertwined.

- "We should have expected this, shouldn't we?"

His gaze was just as sad and unhappy as when he remembered happy moments with Byakuya. To think that petrification had taken his father, an important person in his life, and now it was going to take the only person he had ever loved in his life? How else could he react, honestly?

"Mm... I can really feel my strength leaving me, it's a horrible feeling. I wanted to die in my sleep, but even now, life has just given me the finger in response to my requests." You laughed at your own joke, then turned your head towards Senku. "Senku, I'd like to talk to you seriously, and above all, confess something I wish I could have done about 60 years ago... I..."

You took a deep breath and launched into it.

- "Let's be honest, you've always been a great friend, even in difficult times, always there when things weren't going well. Your knowledge of your surroundings, your smile when an experiment turned out as you had planned. Your laughter, such a sweet melody when I hear it. I'm going round in circles, it's terrible... Anyway, what I wanted to say... Senku, it's been more than 3,700 years now, even before the petrification, that I've had romantic feelings for you. Senku, I love you."

This declaration had taken a lot of your energy, it was obvious, your eyes were filled with weariness in the face of life. But that didn't mean your gaze left Senku.

He squeezed your hand a little tighter in his, and you responded to this gesture by squeezing Senku's hand too.

- "For an old woman about to die, you chose the wrong moment for your declaration, eheh... I must admit, I didn't expect that from you, nor did I expect you to be so detailed on certain subjects, frankly. I can't promise to be as sweet as you, in fact, I think I'm quite direct about my feelings. To think you had more courage than me."

He took a deep breath before saying what was in his heart.

- "Know that I lo..."

He felt your hand loosen its grip, and even felt that your arm was now a sign that all strength and life had left your body.

- "You're not even giving me time, you silly little thing. That's some revenge you've cooked up for me, after leaving me alone... Forgive me, even before you died, you didn't even hear a simple “I love you” from me."

Senku pressed your hand against his chest, his other hand on your forehead, his elbow resting on the bed beside your lifeless body. Tears streamed down his cheeks, turning them the same red colour as his eyes, the same colour you had fallen in love with and was the last thing you saw...

𐔌 ﹒ ⋆ ꩜ ⋆ 𓂃 ₊ ⊹﹒ ◠ ✩ ⊹ ﹒